§ 33. Mr. Eric Forth (Bromley and Chislehurst)If he will list the corporate sponsors of the millennium dome. [65225]
§ The Minister for Tourism, Film and Broadcasting (Janet Anderson)Last November, the New Millennium Experience Company announced confirmed sponsorship of £120 million from Tesco, Manpower, BT, BSkyB, Marks and Spencer, Boots the Chemist, McDonald's, British Airways, GEC, British Aerospace, the Corporation of London, British Airports Authority and Camelot. In addition, Thames Water is funding the innovative grey water recycling facility at the dome. That is a fantastic achievement in anyone's books.
§ Mr. ForthI welcome the Minister to this aspect of her responsibilities and thank her for her answer, which already shows an openness that we had come not to expect from her predecessor. May I urge her to go yet further and confirm that, henceforth, the secrecy that we came to expect—in retrospect, we can understand why it existed—will be swept aside, and she will share with the House and the country all aspects of the financing of the dome project, so that we can see that there is nothing hidden, nothing secret and nothing to be ashamed of, and, most importantly, that all the sponsorship is absolutely clean and above board?
§ Janet AndersonWe have always been very open about the project. I shall continue to be as open as my right hon. Friend the Member for Hartlepool (Mr. Mandelson), who always answered fully any questions raised in the House. The right hon. Gentleman would do his country better service if he would get behind the project and give it the support that it deserves.
§ Mr. Andrew Reed (Loughborough)I welcome the list of sponsors. What sponsorship was in place when the Government took office in May 1997, and what would have happened to the dome if we had let that legacy stand? More importantly, what progress has been made on the spirit zone, and what sponsorship will be available to ensure that the dome celebrates the millennium in the way that was intended, as a religious festival marking 2,000 years since the birth of Christ?
§ Janet AndersonMy hon. Friend has raised an important point. When the Government took over, no sponsorship whatever was in place. More than 1018 £120 million of sponsorship has now been committed to the millennium experience and the New Millennium Experience Company is well on the way to reaching its £150 million target. Good progress has also been made on the spirit zone, both in design and construction and in raising the necessary sponsorship.
§ Mr. Peter Ainsworth (East Surrey)I hope that you will forgive me, Madam Speaker, for remarking that this is an odd occasion: here we are at the butt end of Trade and Industry questions, and it is rather like an end-of-run panto in which the demon king, consumed in a puff of his own sulphur, has left the show for good.
I warmly and sincerely welcome the Minister to her new role as fairy godmother to the project. I wish her well in answering questions on it, even though she is not responsible for the project. She obviously is not a former flatmate of the Prime Minister, as one has to be a crony to get a top job. Will she make a new start and undertake to be open, frank and honest in all her dealings concerning the project, and to give it to us warts and all? Will she begin by telling us how many of the zones still have to be fully sponsored?
§ Janet AndersonI say to the hon. Gentleman, as I said to the right hon. Member for Bromley and Chislehurst (Mr. Forth), that I wish that Conservative Members would get behind this unique national project. This country is rapidly becoming recognised internationally as the country of the millennium. Raising £150 million of private sector sponsorship is a considerable challenge, but no one has ever before decided to stage such a unique national event. I remind the hon. Member for East Surrey (Mr. Ainsworth) that, when this Government took office, the previous Government had not raised one penny of private sector sponsorship for the project.